Matt Carmichael, an Ottawa celebrity chef, has come forward and admitted to sexually harassing some of his employees.

What the world has come to see is that sexual harassment exists in every male-dominated industry (which, let’s face it, is basically every industry).

In the statement Carmichael issued – he got ahead of the news, as the first to publicly address the allegations – he leads with his addiction issues and details how he completed a 30-day recovery program (congratulations).

Certainly, the hospitality industry is notorious for the difficulties associated with the restaurant lifestyle, particularly the use of drugs and alcohol, which can lead to substance abuse problems and addiction. However, in Carmichael’s case, once the groundwork was laid for everyone to view him as an addict, he goes on to blame his sexually harassing behaviour on alcohol, and cites addressing this behaviour as a step in his recovery.

Excusing gender-based violence and harassment based on addiction is a pervasive myth.

Harvey Weinstein blamed his predilection for harassing and abusing young women on sex addiction, as have many political figures caught with their pants down before him.

It’s not just sex addiction, however. Drugs and alcohol are commonly associated with abuse. In an Angus Reid study led by Interval House in 2016, they found that when the public was asked, “What are the most important factors that contribute to abusive behaviour?” the most common answer was “alcohol.” Drugs and substance abuse were also mentioned a number of times.

It’s critical to recognize that gender-based violence is about only that: gender.

Substance abuse, drinking and drug use may be present in gendered violence, but they are not the factors that cause abuse. We cannot allow men to excuse exertions of power and control with this rape myth.

Stated even more explicitly, sexual harassment is not about sex, it is a manifestation of power. Because women so often lack power vis-à-vis men, they are much more likely to experience sexual harassment. When you work in a precarious industry where jobs are not guaranteed, such as the hospitality industry – a place where many of the gatekeepers are men – the power dynamic is already tilted against women.

This dynamic fertilizes the power imbalance between the harasser and his victims and also keeps victims silent. Sexual harassment, at best, creates an environment of intimidation, domination, fear, anxiety and, sometimes, depression.

At worst, it can become violent.

Abusers will always seek to excuse, justify or explain their behaviour. They are very aware of how to use rape mythology to their advantage, and playing on the common assumption that alcohol and drugs can “cause” abuse is one card they are more than willing to play.

But how do we know that this is correlation, and not causation?

Because the violence or harassment doesn’t stop once they’re sober.

There is no evidence that supports the theory that sexual harassment or violence is caused by substance abuse. Instead, sexual harassment is deliberate: perpetrators choose times when their potential victims are vulnerable, and sometimes incapacitated – even when abusers might be incapacitated themselves – both as a strategy for carrying out abuse and as a strategy to avoid taking responsibility.

When you are the boss, or the sole breadwinner or any gatekeeper of sorts, you are in a position of power constantly. Abusing this power by sexualizing women is not about substance use or sex addiction.

It’s about misogyny.

You can’t cure misogyny after 30 days in treatment, nor can you change patterns of abuse by getting sober.

If we continue to excuse power and control with drugs and alcohol, we can expect to continue to see these scandals every three months.

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